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This other lady recently said something interesting about winter. She said, “I love winter because you can keep piling clothes on yourself until you feel warm and cozy. But in summer, there’s a limit on the number of clothes you can take off to feel comfortable”. And that’s so true. Although I hate wearing my whole wardrobe,(sometimes it feels that way) cold moths do come with advantages as well. Like family time around a fireplace or a gas heater, hot chocolate every evening, like uumm, that’s my downfall. Hot chocolate is going to make me gain weight this winter. But when it comes to hair, the strain, damage from neglect, unsafe practices and cold windy weather can leave our natural hair dry, brittle and prone to breakage. And sometimes, we only see the damage caused soon after winter just like weight gain. But it does not have to be like that. There are ways of managing natural hair in winter that will help you still have beautiful hair in winter and when the cold and wind is gone. In winter, our natural hair really needs some tender loving care and that’s what it should get. Here are some tips on how to take care of your hair in winter.

keep your regimen simple. If it’s simple enough, it will be easier to follow through even when you don’t have much time.

Still make time to wash regularly even when protective styling. That will keep your hair moisturised and your scalp clean. A clean scalp grows healthier hair.

Deep condition as much as possible. Every time you wash your hair at least. Deep conditioning helps your hair retain moisture for longer, strengthens it and gives it some elasticity so that it does not snap easily

Deep conditioning natural hair

Protective styling will help you not to have your hands in your hair all the time. You can employ short term protective styling which can be buns, twists and braids and keep them in for a week or two. or even 3 days at a time in the case of a bun and then take it down to re-moisturise the hair and put it up in a bun again.

Low manipulation hairstyles are great as well. If protective styling is not your cup of tea, then try styles that do not need a lot of pulling, brushing, combing and all that kind of stuff that can strain and stress the hair shaft.

Hair extensions and wigs, when done well are great for winter I particularly love wigs because I can deep condition underneath and on very cold days, even when the heater is on and the air in my office is quite dry, my hair is protected under the wig.

Make sure your protective style is not causing you any form of hair loss. So make sure it is done properly. No one needs to deal with hair loss when it can be prevented easily.

If it’s a long term protective styling, don’t keep it in your hair for too long. 8 weeks should be the maximum if you don’t want to deal with stubborn knots and some maniac tangling of hair.

When applying products on your hair. do what works for you. Some prefer to layer products and others apply the whole concoction at once. But in winter, heavier oils like castor oil and butters work best to offer more sealing and protection from the windy winter weather.

Cover your head with satin or silk when you go to sleep.

Avoid using heat to style your hair. It’s quite dry in South African winter months. Heat styling natural hair only adds to the damage. If you need to stretch your hair with heat, apply the lowest heat possible, use cold air on your blower or use heatless methods to stretch it like African threading.

African Threading to stretch natural hair

Most of the tips here are like so common but I included them anyway in case there are newbies and to remind those of us who have been natural for longer but need a plan to retain some hair in winter. Let’s make this winter a good winter for our natural hair.

Do you suffer from sever dandruff and you have tried almost everything but you still see the flakes? Comment below and ask any question about dandruff so that I can include it on a post I will be doing soon. Dandruff is like the enemy to long term protective styling and I want to share with you what has helped me so far. Now I am enjoying stretching my washes to 2 weeks when in a protective style when before I could not go for 3 days without having to wash my hair. It’s not products that I’m going to talk about. It’s more the approach to fighting dandruff that I’ve been missing all along. I know there are some people who are suffering like I did for years. And it’s those people I want to help. I’m not selling you any product as well and it will not be a sponsored post. Just me to you.

Smiles, laughs and hugs for the love of life. God bless you much and keep warm this winter.

Winter Hair Care. Things you need to know. was last modified: May 31st, 2017 by Evenes Ruth Mafupa

Hey loves. I hope you are well. It has been a while since I posted. Believe me, I’ve got a lot that I’d love to share with you but the time to sit and write is what I’m short of. Life is what’s happening here, otherwise I’m well and all is well.

You probably noticed that I don’t keep hairstyles in for too long and you may think it’s my “hands-in-hair” syndrome at play. Which is probably true but what is also true is that, my hair is so prone to frizz it’s not even funny.

There are hairstyles that some people easily go 4 weeks in and I can’t even do full 2 weeks without looking crazy, I promise. And to be honest with you, most of the photos of hairstyles that I post here or on social media, have to be taken the very first day to make sure the hairstyle is still intact. By second day, my hair looks like it was done two weeks ago and by the time I have had the hairstyle in for a week, then it looks like a whole month. and by two weeks, it’s like I have had it in for way too long and I need to take it down. Sisters be eyeing me like “it’s about that time sis”

So I have stayed away from cornrows, micro braids, micro twists and other hairstyles that take too long to do and undo because the effort does not equal the amount of time that I can keep my hairstyle in. It’s just not worth it.

What causes the frizz?

It is combination of factors that creates the frizz madness on my hair and this is what I think

I have to wash my hair every week even when in a protective style. That’s a must or else I will scratch myself mad. Not sure if this is just in my mind. So after a wash, my hair looks way frizzy than before the wash. This is normal right?

My hairline is full but not a clear cut hairline. I hope you understand what I mean. The hair around my hairline is not exactly all baby hair neither is it full strength hair that grows long. It’s just there. It’s thin and slippery such that any protective hairstyle doesn’t really hold for long. So this is what starts looking ugly and frizzy first before the rest of the hair. And because it’s right there in front, anyone is bound to notice it and the whole style looks way too old.

The texture of my hair is just prone to frizz. I do all the keeping my hands off it, sleeping in a satin scarf, moisturising everyday and I have even tried applying gel to keep the frizz down but all my efforts only keep it down for a very short while and my styles look so old you would be asking me to take it down as well if you saw me after 2 weeks.

What I am doing to deal with the frizz

Because I can’t do without protective styles, I have to major in short term protective styling like buns, tucked updo’s, medium twists and other hairstyles that I know do not take too long to install and take down. I have also been using full wigs and head scarfs when my styles are old to keep from manipulating my hair too soon. Wigs and scarfs are so liberating especially on busy days when I don’t have time to be doing hair.

Natural hair: Twist out in a sock bun

African Threading on Natural hair. When this styles gets old, I simply cover it up with a wig or a head scarf

Flat Twist & Bun on Natural hair. My go to style when my hair is in a twist or braid out

Does your hair frizz a lot? How do you tame it or deal with it when your hair is in protective styles? Please help a sister out. I will really appreciate it.

Frizz! Eish I can’t was last modified: April 14th, 2016 by Evenes Ruth Mafupa

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” Albert Einstein. If your hair is experiencing chronic breakage, doing the same things you have been doing will not give you different results. That’s certain. The main reason I decided to go natural is, my hair was breaking because of the relaxer. If I had continued to relax my hair, I am sure it was going to keep on breaking. Now, I am not saying we should all go natural, that’s a personal choice. But, if you want healthier hair, you have to take charge and STOP THE CYCLE. You have to change the way you have been handling your hair if you want different results. Simple.